Plenty of uncertainty looms over the Davis Cup quarterfinal tie pitting Japan against the defending champions, the Czech Republic.  Is there similar uncertainty shrouding the battle between Switzerland and Kazakhstan?  Not so much.

Japan vs. Czech Republic:

In Tokyo on an indoor hard court, a Kei Nishikori-less Japanese team will take on a Tomas Berdych-less Czech team. In their stead, Japan will make do with former top-60 player Tatsuma Ito as the singles No. 1, while the Czech Republic still has veteran performer Radek Stepanek to lead the way. 

The teams are rounded out by the rising Taro Daniel and Yasutaka Uchiyama for Japan, and the rising Jiri Vesely for the Czech Republic, along with the solid Czech Lukas Rosol. Go Soeda is also missing for Japan, although listed on the team roster. Jan Hajek is available for the Czech Republic, should he be needed.

On paper, the Czechs are strong favorites simply by virtue of having three top-70 singles players available and the very good Stepanek for doubles. However, Japan will have home-court advantage and could at least keep things competitive if Taro Daniel is able to step on a big stage.

Ito defeated Stepanek on clay two years ago, but Stepanek should prevail on a fast surface as he has produced crisper tennis than Ito in recent weeks. Moreover, Stepanek and Vesely should be favored over the team of Ito/Uchiyama in the doubles rubber.

The tie will come down to the performance of Taro Daniel, who won his first two career ATP main-draw matches this year (on clay) and at 21 years old has reached a career-high ranking of No. 190. Daniel was born in New York but trains in Spain. Thus, his best results have been on clay rather than hard courts, although his all-court game makes him competitive across surfaces. He has lost his last two matches however, while Rosol won a challenger last month. Vesely is in decent form and steadily improving, so a Czech sweep is possible.

Prediction:  Czech Republic 3-1

Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan:

Team Switzerland has been taking Davis Cup very seriously this year. They will host an underdog Kazakh team on an indoor hard court in Geneva. The Swiss team can be summed up by Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, who are currently scheduled to play all five rubbers. Also, the Swiss have Henri Laaksonen and Michael Lammer in reserve for dead rubbers or should one of their stars need a breather.

Kazahkstan counters with three top-100 players:  Mikhail Kukushkin, Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.  None of these three men or Kazakh No. 4 Evgeny Korolev has anything near the consistency or firepower of the Swiss team. Federer has been in great form all season, while Wawrinka looks to rebound from a disappointing March. This tie is not in much doubt as Switzerland should sweep and then be able to put in their reserves for Sunday in the dead rubbers.

Prediction:  Switzerland 3-0